Meditations of a Yogi

The Preparation: The Four Wheels



PREREQUISITES FOR THE PRACTICE



[1]

People who embark upon the path of the Mahayana, the supreme path of beings of great scope leading to omniscience, should try to acquire four circumstances.



They should



(1) live in solitude, in a place that has all the necessary conditions and is in harmony with the Dharma.



They should



(2) frequent a teacher who is learned in the Tripitaka and steeped in the practice of the three trainings. By doing this, they will avoid the inferior attitudes of ordinary folk as well as the wrong behavior that leads to suffering, and they will acquire all the good qualities deriving from the Dharma of transmission and realization.



They should in addition



(3) nourish an intense wish to practice in accordance with the teaching expounded by their master



and should



(4) zealously adopt the supreme protection afforded by the merit accumulated in their past and present existences.



The venerable Nagarjuna refers to these four conditions as the “four wheels,” the idea being that, just as someone riding in a (horse-drawn) chariot can cover in a short time a distance that would take many days for a cow or ox, a Bodhisattva taking advantage of these four conditions will progress speedily toward omniscience. Nagarjuna refers to them in his Suhrllekha when he says:



Your dwelling place befits the task,

You keep the company of holy beings.

With highest aspirations and a store of merit,

You have indeed the “four wheels” all complete.









Quintessence of the three paths commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoch

Treasury of Precious Qualities By Jigme Lingpa, Shambhala Publications.

www.tgoop.com/Advayajnana/2069

83 viewsSep 20 at 13:31

The Preparation: The Four Wheels



PREREQUISITES FOR THE PRACTICE



[1]

People who embark upon the path of the Mahayana, the supreme path of beings of great scope leading to omniscience, should try to acquire four circumstances.



They should



(1) live in solitude, in a place that has all the necessary conditions and is in harmony with the Dharma.



They should



(2) frequent a teacher who is learned in the Tripitaka and steeped in the practice of the three trainings. By doing this, they will avoid the inferior attitudes of ordinary folk as well as the wrong behavior that leads to suffering, and they will acquire all the good qualities deriving from the Dharma of transmission and realization.



They should in addition



(3) nourish an intense wish to practice in accordance with the teaching expounded by their master



and should



(4) zealously adopt the supreme protection afforded by the merit accumulated in their past and present existences.



The venerable Nagarjuna refers to these four conditions as the “four wheels,” the idea being that, just as someone riding in a (horse-drawn) chariot can cover in a short time a distance that would take many days for a cow or ox, a Bodhisattva taking advantage of these four conditions will progress speedily toward omniscience. Nagarjuna refers to them in his Suhrllekha when he says:



Your dwelling place befits the task,

You keep the company of holy beings.

With highest aspirations and a store of merit,

You have indeed the “four wheels” all complete.









Quintessence of the three paths commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoch

Treasury of Precious Qualities By Jigme Lingpa, Shambhala Publications.

BY Meditations of a Yogi